Drabbles Project
by Muircheartach
Summary: 100 themes, 100 words each.  Character development featuring characters from Convergence and Berceuse.
1. Drabbles 1 to 5

_As a way to get my creative juices flowing I've decided to do a drabbles project. Yes, I have attempted this before, but I gave myself too many options which made them difficult to write. This time I'll be writing with the characters from my two main stories, Convergence and Berceuse. There may be some characters that haven't been introduced into either timeline yet, but they will be present eventually. I have some characters that need some well deserved character development and hopefully this will help with that. Any feedback you might have is much appreciated. Enjoy!_

_Edit: As my inspiration for this project comes in spurts, I have decided to post these in groupings of five. It allows me to put these out in a more timely manner and gives you all more to read every time I post._

* * *

><p>1. Introduction (99)<p>

I walked into the Marshville High School band room with my trumpet in my hands. I was nervous. People at Marshville knew my father, to say the least. They would know from the moment I said my name that I was Alexander Foley's son.

"I'm Elisabeth Collins, what's your name?"

I turned to find a girl standing next to me with lime green hair. "I'm Joshua," I answered. "Joshua Foley."

"It's good to meet you, Joshua," she said before bounding off. Despite that easy introduction, I knew that the rest I would be making would be much more difficult.

* * *

><p>2. Complicated (86)<p>

"Just go talk to her."

I sighed and pulled my hands through my hair. I couldn't bring myself to do it. "I just can't do, Dave," I said. "It's complicated."

"She's your wife. How complicated can it be?"

"It's more than that. It goes deeper than just this." I stopped for a moment. "It has nothing to do with her and everything to do with me."

"You're not making any sense, Joshua."

I looked over at him and grinned slightly. "I told you it was complicated."

* * *

><p>3. Making History (127)<p>

"And in first place…"

I couldn't believe it. We won. We had done it. We had broken the glass ceiling. Even when I accepted the award for the corps, I still couldn't believe it. First place.

As we got ready for our victory run-through, I looked over the corps. It was crazy. We had been working to get to this point for ages, but I had never really thought that it was possible. "It's a little surreal, isn't it?"

I turned to see Elisabeth. "Back when we were marching together I wouldn't have thought that we would ever reach this."

"But isn't it good to finally reach that after all of that hard work?"

I looked out over the corps as they got ready. "It sure is."

* * *

><p>4. Rivalry (107)<p>

Rivalry. In a way, it's the reason that the two of us ended up crossing paths so often. I was at Marshville and he was at Arden Lake, then I was in Northwind and he was with the Crusaders. If we hadn't been in rival groups we probably wouldn't have seen as much of each other. Then of course, there was the merger and we were rival drum majors within the same ensemble, stuck having to work together after all of those years of being rivals. I thought that it would never work, but I guess that as rivals we were closer than we would have thought.

* * *

><p>5. Unbreakable (100)<p>

I knew from the moment I met her that she was something different. She knew what she wanted in life and knew how to get it. She was opinionated, stubborn, rebellious. Unbreakable. I knew from the beginning that we were polar opposites and yet I kept coming back. I kept getting pulled back into her presence. It didn't make much sense to me, but then again neither did she. Try as I might, I could never find any reason behind it. But then I found that I really didn't mind and just being able to be around her was enough.


	2. Drabbles 6 to 10

6. Obsession (71)

At my first field competition as a drum major what my father said led me to believe one thing.

Rather than congratulate me on how well I did, saying how well the band played, or even mentioning something about the trombone solo, he said one thing that convinced me.

"Why didn't you get a higher score than Marshville?"

My father is obsessed, that's what it is. Completely, totally and absolutely obsessed.

* * *

><p>7. Eternity (100)<p>

I had been waiting near the telephone all night. Mr. Stevens had told me at my drum major audition that afternoon that he would call me that night to tell me if I had gotten picked as drum major.

"Has he called yet?" Renée asked, walking by.

"Not yet," I answered, nervously wringing my hands.

"I'm sure you did fine. After all, you can't do worse than Markus."

The phone rang. I reached for it, but Renée grabbed it first. "Hello? Hi Mr. Stevens. Sure, Drake's here." She handed me the phone. "Have fun."

I shakily grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

* * *

><p>8. Gateway (103)<p>

People always thought that I became drum major only to piss off my dad. While it was enjoyable to watch his reaction, that wasn't the real reason why I did it. For the Foleys becoming drum major for your senior year is a rite of passage. Because I was a girl, the first female Foley descendant in generations, things didn't always apply to me like they did for my brothers. I really just wanted to be accepted, that's all. I just wanted to be a part of the family, so I used the one way that I knew how to. And it worked.

* * *

><p>9. Death (96)<p>

Crunch. It was a horrible sound. I knew from the beginning that it was bad. "Oh my god, my horn!" It was one of the mellophone players. I turned to find him and some of the other hornline members gathered by the equipment truck. It wasn't unusual, really. Someone would place their horn down behind the truck, in the way of the tires, and it would accidentally get run over when the truck backed up a bit. I looked over to find the horn completely flattened, completely unusable, completely unfixable.

Well, we needed new horns anyways.

* * *

><p>10. Opportunities (94)<p>

I sat on the desk in my room, looking through college pamphlets that my dad had stacked on my desk. Out of all of them, none interested me. There was a knock on the door. It was Drake.

"Find anything interesting?" he asked.

"Not really," I answered. "The thing is Dad's idea of a perfect college is different from mine."

"Then tell him."

"You know what, I think I will." I hopped off the desk and walked past a stunned Drake. He definitely wasn't expecting that.

I had a feeling that Dad wouldn't either.


	3. Drabbles 11 to 15

11. Thirty-three (100)

Thirty-three. That was my number. Each of us had a number for our audition. It made it easier when we were doing full group work for those judging us to identify each person who was auditioning. It wasn't that they didn't want to know our names or anything; it was just easier to read a number while someone was doing work than it was to read a nametag. I didn't really mind, I guess. It was just a number and as long as I was one of the numbers that got picked, I really didn't care what number it was.

* * *

><p>12. Dead Wrong (102)<p>

When I decided to try out for football I thought that my dad would be fine with it. Sure, I knew he wouldn't like it but I thought that he'd support me in my choice. I was wrong.

"Why would you ever want to try out for football?" he yelled. "You will join marching band and that's final." He walked out of the room as I sat feeling shocked next to my mother.

At that point I knew the only thing that would gain his approval was to do all I could to be like him, which was a task in itself.

* * *

><p>13. Running Away (100)<p>

"Drake, what are you doing?" My son was standing in front of the fridge stuffing cheese sticks and carrots into his backpack.

"Nothing," he answered.

"Drake."

"I'm running away from home."

I squatted down next to him. "And why are you doing that?"

"Dad hates me."

I sighed. "Your father doesn't hate you."

"Yes he does! You didn't see him."

"Well… If you're gonna run away from home you're gonna need more than cheese sticks and carrots."

He dug in his backpack. "I've got peanut butter and crackers, too."

I laughed. "Come on kiddo, I'll help you out with that."

* * *

><p>14. Judgment (103)<p>

I was used to it by now- the way that my father judged every person and everything that came into his house. I was used to it, but I knew that she wasn't. "You ready for this?" I asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've never dealt with my father like this before."

"No, I haven't. But I'm sure that I'll manage." I must have made a face at her. "What's that for?"

"You'll be saying differently after we're done with this."

She grabbed my arm and shoved me forward. "We can't get it over with if you keep stalling. Now get in there."

* * *

><p>15. Seeking Solace (103)<p>

Finding a quiet space to sit and think is one of the hardest things to do when you're on tour. Being constantly surrounded by one hundred and fifty of your "closest friends" at all hours of the day means that it is practically impossible to find time to be by yourself.

"Drake, what are you doing?" I looked up from my perch near the urinals to see one of my section mates.

"Nothing," I said, standing up.

He gave me an odd look and walked off. After he left I squatted back down. Too bad the only quiet spot was in the bathroom.


	4. Drabbles 16 to 20

16. Excuses (100)

I stopped my student before he could finish the exercise. "Did you practice this week?" I asked.

He stayed quiet for a moment, probably trying to come up with some kind of excuse as to why he didn't practice. It was unusual for him- he always came to our lessons having prepared all of the exercises I gave to him. "Well? And no excuses for why you didn't practice."

He looked surprised. "I hadn't thought to make up an excuse."

"So you didn't practice?"

"Not really. I just didn't do it."

I laughed. "Alright then. Start at the beginning again."

* * *

><p>17. Vengeance (114)<p>

"I am so going to get you back for this!" Renée threatened.

"I'd like to see you try," I laughed. All I had been doing was seeing whether or not she paid any attention. She once again had the urge to dye her hair and I had switched out the bottles to see if she would notice before she put the stuff on her head. She hadn't and now her hair looked like someone had puked on it.

"I'll get you back for this." The next weekend I woke up to find cat litter in my nose. So began the war to see who was on top.

Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.

* * *

><p>18. Love (91)<p>

I sat down at my lunch table and began to eat by myself. Another year of eating alone. I guess that's what I get for wanting to be drum major. Back when I was a mellophone I used to sit with people during lunch. Unlike Renée, the social butterfly, I've never had many friends, but back then I didn't sit miserably alone.

To use the old expression, it is better to have loved and lost than to never loved at all. Right, and if you believe that, then you're a moron.

* * *

><p>19. Tears (106)<p>

I hated seeing her cry. She wasn't the kind of person to cry easily, so whenever it happened you knew that something was seriously wrong. No matter what she was crying about I always felt that it was my fault. Most of the time it was because of me. I put her through a lot of stuff that she shouldn't have had to deal with.

As time went on she would cry less and less. It was like she had gotten used to all the shit that I put her through. As much as I hated seeing her cry, I hated it more when she didn't.

* * *

><p>20. My Inspiration (81)<p>

I've found that inspiration comes in many forms. For example, my mother convinced me to pick the tuba in fifth grade. I was inspired by Markus to join marching band and I was inspired by Drake to try out for section leader. But my biggest inspiration came from my dear old dad.

"Hope that you get a good trumpet player as drum major next year, Renée."

I hate to say it, but inspiration sure has a pretty twisted sense of humor.


	5. Drabbles 21 to 25

21. Never Again (116)

"Drake," my father addressed me. "I saw that there's a french horn solo in the ballad. Who got it?"

"Drew," I answered quickly.

"I thought you got it Drake," Markus added. I watched my father's face as he heard the statement, wanting to run away as fast as I could.

"You did WHAT?" he demanded, the decibels rising.

"I auditioned for the solo," I answered.

"You are the drum major. You don't play solos. Your job is to direct. I'll let it pass, but never again will you pull anything like this in my house."

I should have said that then I'd just have to move out, but I felt like I was in enough trouble.

* * *

><p>22. Online (102)<p>

"Whatcha doin' Markus?"

I almost jumped out of my skin. "Nothing," I said quickly, shutting my laptop.

"Come on, what's so secretive that you can't let me see?"

"I told you it's nothing."

"I know you're hiding something. You doing something illegal?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why would I do that?"

"I dunno. You're kind of weird." She paused. "You got a secret girlfriend or something?"

I hesitated. I'm sure she noticed. "Of course not."

She shrugged and left the room. She might have not meant to, but she hit the nail on the head. That made things a lot more complicated.

* * *

><p>23. Failure (92)<p>

I had been waiting for the letter to arrive for weeks. And now that I had it, I couldn't force myself to open it.

"Come on, Drake," Renée urged. "Just open the envelope already."

Hands shaking, I opened the letter and read it out loud. "Dear Mr. Foley," it began. "We thank you for your audition, but are sorry to inform you that you will not be in this years' All-State band." I set down the letter. I had known it was coming.

"Better luck next year, eh Drake?"

Right, next year…

* * *

><p>24. Rebirth (85)<p>

"Rebirth?" I asked. While I knew that Mr. Stevens knew what he was doing, I was still slightly skeptical.

"Yeah. I was writing the music in my free time over the winter and the name just sort of seemed to fit," Mr. Stevens explained.

"And how exactly is this supposed to translate into a field show?" I asked.

"You know, the whole firebird being reborn from the ashes sort of thing."

"My question still applies."

Silence. "I don't know, I haven't gotten that far yet!"

* * *

><p>25. Breaking Away (105)<p>

I sat on my bed, looking at all of the plaques on the walls. When I joined the Arden Lake marching band my father decided to put all of the family's drum major awards up on my wall. It was to convince me to continue with Foley traditions, I guess. In the beginning, I felt like I had to do it, but as the years went on the feeling disappeared to be replaced by another one.

I stood up and began to remove the plaques. If there was one thing that I had learned from Markus, it was that I needed to break from tradition..


	6. Drabbles 26 to 30

26. Forever and a day (121)

It was only a few moments, but it felt like forever. There we were- her standing, me on one knee having taken the biggest leap of faith in my life. Would she say yes? I had put her through a lot of shit in the past few years and I knew it. Would she want to deal with that for the rest of her life?

She didn't say anything for a while. I couldn't read her. Was she trying to find a polite way to say no? I had thought that we were in a place in our relationship where this was the next step. Did she think the same way?

A smile broke across her face. "Of course, you idiot!"

* * *

><p>27. Lost and Found (100)<p>

You could always find the most random things on the busses after DCA trips. Sometimes it seemed like people were so excited to get away from everyone and go home that they forgot half of their things on the bus. You'd find lots of different things- from extra clothes and shoes, to books and other entertainment, to uniform parts. After every trip I'd end up with a trunk full of everyone's lost and found items and I'd bring them to every rehearsal after that until someone claimed them. It was annoying, but I knew that someone had to do it.

* * *

><p>28. Light (100)<p>

I squinted as I felt the light in my face. "What's goin' on?"

"We're here, get up." It was Joshua. We had arrived at the housing site.

"Why is it so bright?"

"They turned on the bus lights. I'm going to grab my things. Do you want me to grab your mellophone?"

I sat up and started stretching. My back was hurting for some reason. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"I'll get us a spot in the gym. Remember to grab your bag." I squinted and watched as he got off the bus.

I was really starting to hate that light.

* * *

><p>29. Dark (99)<p>

The one part on tour that I hate is the late night arrivals. We often pull into housing sites in the early hours of the morning and most of the time there are no lights on when we arrive. Being woken up to wander around an unknown parking lot trying to find luggage and everything else is never enjoyable.

While the dark is hated in the parking lot, it's loved in the gymnasium. Once everyone settles in the lights turn off and there's no street lights and passing cars. All that's left to do is relax and fall asleep.

* * *

><p>30. Faith (122)<p>

"You've just gotta trust me on this one, okay?"

I looked at my wife in disbelief. How was I supposed to trust her on this? She should have been resting, not marching around in the heat for hours on end. We had made this commitment in January, but things had changed since then. "I don't think this is the best idea, considering…"

"It's too late in the season to be finding someone else. I'm capable of marching the spot. Besides, the doctor said regular exercise would be good for both me and the baby."

"He said light exercise Elisabeth, not marching a show while you're pregnant."

"Can you just trust me on this?"

I sighed. "Whatever you feel is best, I suppose."


	7. Drabbles 31 to 35

31. Colors (99)

"What do you think?"

I looked up to find her standing in the doorway with a towel around her shoulders. "It's… different."

"You don't like it." She sounded disappointed.

"It just seems like…" I tried to find a nice way to say it. "It seems like there's too many colors. It's too loud, too…"

"You're trying to find a nice way to say it looks like shit, right?"

"Yeah."

She turned around and went back to look at it in the mirror. After a few minutes I could hear her starting up again. "I hate it when you're right."

* * *

><p>32. Exploration (100)<p>

Hefting my tuba on to my shoulder, I got ready to play. After marching with the Crusaders I wanted change. While I loved the family I had at the Crusaders, it felt off. Mom always told me to find a corps that I loved, not just the corps that my family marched at. I took that advice to heart, taking off a season to try to find out where I wanted to march at. I filled my schedule with auditions in an attempt to find my corps.

Standing in the horn arc at Bluecoats felt good. Maybe this was it.

* * *

><p>33. Seeing Red (99)<p>

"It's red."

My son glanced over at me before looking back at his daughter. "Yeah. She doesn't get it from her mother, so neither of us have a clue where it came from."

"It's from you," I said and he gave me an odd look. "Take a look at pictures of your grandfather when he was younger. Until I was born, all of the Foleys had red hair."

"So it skipped two generations?"

"That's the only way I can think that it would happen." I looked at my granddaughter. "In this family, I've found that typical reasoning doesn't apply."

* * *

><p>34. Shades of Grey (99)<p>

The moment every woman dreads. "Ian?"

"Yes, love?"

"Please tell me this isn't noticeable."

He was quiet for a moment. "It's not noticeable."

"That pause wasn't reassuring."

"You told me to tell you it wasn't noticeable, so I did."

"You're not supposed to say it unless it's true!"

"You're supposed to say that before you tell me to do something!"

Awkward silence.

"I _have_ to dye my hair. I never thought this would happen."

"Hiding it should be no problem."

I frowned at him. "I hate you sometimes."

"Stop blaming me for things that you want me to say!"

* * *

><p>35. Forgotten (93)<p>

My heart was racing when I pulled up to the school. I felt horrible. I had completely forgotten to pick up my son. He must have hated me.

He was sitting patiently on the curb with his backpack and horn at his feet. "Drake, I am so sorry."

He stood up and grabbed his things. "It's okay."

"I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"No, you won't." If I hadn't been listening carefully, I wouldn't have heard him. I couldn't imagine what he meant.

Now that wasn't something I'd easily forget.


End file.
